My Life as a Wàiguóren in China

Finishing Touches

“And… cut!”

Yesterday marked the end of my trip to the land of apples and Borat. My friend and I eventually won our Napoleonic battle with the elements to gather enough footage for the video project. The Soviet era lenses that we’ve been using have given the footage a very cinematic look, and I can’t wait to see the finished short.

It’s true that some days we only got outside for a grand total of thirty-five minutes, tops, before the very real threat of frozen johnsons drove us back inside for copious amounts of hot tea, but we eventually wrapped after a sub-zero legend trip towards the river, plus a couple of pick-up shots the following morning (shortly before the power went down in the apartment complex, which meant packing my bags and showering in dwindling daylight before writing this at the airport and posting it from my apartment in the Jing).

The troubles of the world have been weighing a little heavy recently, although I again see hope in the fact that the likes of George Orwell and Hannah Arendt have begun climbing the bestseller list, as if people have realized that switching off the X Factor and educating themselves instead is possibly the best defense against the forthcoming zombie apocalypse.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but it’s been grest to notch up a second Asian country to my travels and to spend time with friends I hadn’t seen for over a year. I hope to return one day. Possibly during the summer next time!